Forest scientists raise warnings about logging burned forests

As more and more of BC forests go up in flames, pressure from the logging industry to "salvage" burned and unburned trees increases. But these forest scientists warn that such logging will have few benefits aside from economic opportunity for the logging industry.

A post-fire forest (Photo: Conservation North)

PRINCE GEORGE—Scientists last Monday evening called for a drastic change to BC’s logging of forests burned by fire and affected by insects. They said Csalvage” logging after a fire usually causes more damage to a forest than the fire itself, and explained that logging reduces biodiversity, contributes to climate change, increases the vulnerability of the forest to further fires, and often causes soil degradation and erosion.

They said the only reason for “salvage logging” is to create revenue and jobs, but these benefits aren’t worth the costs. One also noted that little of the revenue is of benefit to the public because the forest companies obtain the rights to the wood for a pittance.

These scientists were speaking in a panel discussion broadcast as a webinar organized by the volunteer group Conservation North and virtually attended by more than 200 people.

Dr. Dominick DellaSalla, a researcher who has published more than 300 journal articles on forest ecology, said the word “salvage” is misleading. According to Dr. DellaSala: “Nothing is saved or preserved, but instead, logging forests after a fire causes more damage than the fire itself.” He said fire usually contributes to biodiversity and sustainable environments, and added that logging releases more carbon into the atmosphere than is captured by any seedlings that may be planted, and this carbon contributes to climate change.

Dr. Diana Six, a forest entomologist and professor at the University of Montana, characterized beetle outbreaks as events that help forests adapt to a future changing climate if they are left alone and not logged. Dr. Six explained that most people only notice the dead trees that follow an insect attack or fire, however, “surviving trees pass on genetic-based traits that support persistence of the ecosystems under new conditions.”

Dr. Karen Price, an ecologist who was a member of the old growth technical panel for the BC Ministry of Forests, said that: “dead trees often have more value that live trees from an ecological perspective,” and that we should think of wildfire “as restoration”. Price suggested we should add to the benefits of fires, pointing to the example of a plan developed by the Stellat’en and Nadleh First Nations in central BC.

The webinar began with a presentation by Seraphine Munroe, a Dakelh (Carrier First Nation) advocate for a reconnection to the land, who spoke of the logging of her family’s land. She said the land, her people and everyone continue to be victims of the colonial “machine”.

The big lesson from this webinar is that in a changing world leaving primary forests alone contributes to resilience of both communities and nature.

Michelle Connolly is a director of Conservation North.